Jansson's temptation (Swedish: Janssons frestelse ()) is a traditional Swedish

casserole A casserole (French language, French: diminutive of , from Provençal dialect, Provençal , meaning 'saucepan') is a kind of large, deep cookware and bakeware, pan or bowl used for cooking a variety of dishes in the oven; it is also a categor ...

made of

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es,

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

s, pickled

sprat Sprat is the common name applied to a group of forage fish belonging to the genus ''Sprattus'' in the Family (biology), family Clupeidae. The term also is applied to a number of other small sprat-like forage fish (''Clupeoides'', ''Clupeonella ...

bread crumbs Breadcrumbs are a culinary ingredient consisting of flour or crumbled bread of varying dryness, sometimes with seasonings added. They are used for a variety of purposes, including breading or crumbing foods before frying (such as breaded cut ...

and

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

. It is commonly included in a Swedish '' julbord'' (Christmas ''

smörgåsbord Smorgasbord or Smörgåsbord (, ) is a buffet-style meal of Swedish origin. It is served with various hot and mainly cold dishes. It assumed its present form in the 19th century, following old traditions. Smörgåsbord became known in the US ...

''), and the

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

''påskbuffé'', which is lighter than a traditional ''julbord''. The dish is also common in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

where it is known as ''janssoninkiusaus''.

Preparation

The potatoes are cut into thin strips and layered in a roasting tin, alternating with the sprats and chopped onions in between. Salt and pepper is put over each layer, then cream is added so that it almost fills the tin. It is finally baked in an oven at for about one hour. The type of fish used in this dish is often mistranslated into English, writing

anchovies An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

when it should be

s. This is because sprats (''Sprattus sprattus'') pickled in sugar, salt and spices have been known in Sweden as ''ansjovis'' since the middle of the 19th century, while true anchovies (''Engraulis encrasicolus'') are sold in Sweden as ''sardeller'' ( sardelles). Small herrings (''Clupea harengus'') may be used instead of sprats.

Name and origin

It has often been associated with the opera singer Per Adolf "Pelle" Janzon (1844–1889), remembered as a

gourmand A gourmand is a person who takes great pleasure and interest in consuming particularly good food and drink. ''Gourmand'' originally referred to a person who was "a glutton for food and drink", a person who eats and drinks excessively. Etymolo ...

, but any connection with him is unlikely, according to food writer Jens Linder. Another claim for the origin of the name has been made by Gunnar Stigmark (1910–2001) in his article "Så var det med Janssons frestelse", which appeared in the periodical ''Gastronomisk kalender''. According to Stigmark, his mother and a cook she had hired to prepare a dinner party wanted to give the familiar dish a special name, and decided to use the name of the film '' Janssons frestelse'' (1928) featuring the actor and director

Edvin Adolphson Gustav Edvin Adolphson (25 February 1893 – 31 October 1979) was a Sweden, Swedish film actor and director who appeared in over 500 roles. He made his debut in 1912. He appeared with Ingrid Bergman in ''Only One Night (1939 film), Only One ...

; from that party the name spread to other households and eventually into cookbooks. According to Linder the dish did not become associated with Christmas dinner until the 1970s.

References

External links

Recipe
at ica.se {{Christmas Casserole dishes Potato dishes Swedish cuisine Finnish cuisine Vegetable dishes Christmas food Fish dishes Christmas in Sweden Easter food

Preparation

Name and origin

See also

References

External links